How Has British Politics Influenced the Structure of Its Government?

June 7, 2017

The British politics over the course of its history has been relatively simply compared to other politics in other governments like in France. British politics start and end with the Parliament. Britain is formally known as a constitutionally Parliament. Parliament is characterized by democracy, sovereignty, and supremacy over the monarch. Powers in the legislature have been fused together in the House of Lords and Commons. The House of Lords is basically powerless compared to the House of Commons.ï¿½
In England there has been a steady movement toward autonomy as the Welsh and Scottish have been pressing for autonomy from England. A Scottish Parliament has been created along with a Welsh assembly.ï¿½

The British cabinet is composed of a prime minister who is the head of the government and leader of the majority political party in power. The Cabinet has three offices and category of members: The Foreign Office, the Head Office, and the Chancellor of the Echequer. All cabinet members have unique responsibilities to the cabinet as well as their own constituents.ï¿½

The rules of office also state that any position can be terminated even in the middle of a term. A vote of no confidence in which a vote is taken in the legislature in which more than a majority of the people disapprove and the person will be removed from office. An early call for elections can also be called if the politician in office is unliked by the British people or has low approval ratings. However even if the politicians is well liked, elections must still be held at least every 5 years.ï¿½

One of the biggest part of European governments especially in Europe is the Bureaucracy. The Bureaucracy is made up of the Secretary ofï¿½State who is also a cabinet member. There is also a permanentï¿½secretary who is known as the top civil servant in England.ï¿½ï¿½

Other unique features about theï¿½British government is the remarkable similarity of the legislature to the American House of Representatives and Senate. In the House of Commons, there is a “Question Time” period in which members of parliament can ask questions to the prime minister. The prime minister is basically grilled and questioned for as long as it takes andï¿½part of his popularity and approval is based on howï¿½well he answers these questions.ï¿½

In England there are several key political parties thatï¿½try and gain control of power in England. These parties include Labour, Conservatives, Liberalï¿½Democrats, Scottish Nationalists, and the Plaid Cymru party which is made up of the Welsh. The election system used in England is a Single Member districtï¿½plurality system. This is also commonly referred to as “first past the post” because all that is needed is a majority of the votes going to one party.ï¿½

While England is one of the most stable governments and societies inï¿½Europe, there are some key questions that still linger. These questions focus on the future identity of the nation and theï¿½effects of racism towards certain ethnic groups. South Asians, people from the Carribean, Chinese, have all had increased populations in England and there has been some ethnic tensions within the countries especially with the Catholics. Finally, there is the issue of theï¿½European Union which most British people do not want to join.ï¿½Most of Europe isï¿½in the European Union. However England wants to abstain from being involved in the union and being committed to anything. England still uses theï¿½Pound currency while most of Europe is switching to the Euro currency. ï¿½